Well, y'all I just had me a BIGFOOT ale from Sierra Nevada. It will seize holt of yo mouf and turn it every which way but loose! And you don't love hops to distraction, and love malt to death, don't put a foot in BIGFOOT's yard, cause he gone slap you upside yo head!!

BIGFOOT is 9.6% alcohol and he don't play. He will set yo thinker to buzzing in a New York minute.

Now, what I did, see, was tone him down a bit with some homemade pork barbeque with Wild Turkey BBQ sauce (I like WT sauce.........I like it cause it's good).

Now, I know BIGFOOT ain't for everybody, just like Stagg ain't for everybody. But I bet there are a few of you who like this SUPER beer.

It goes good with BBQ, or oysters, or other 'flavorful' foods.

BIGFOOT needs to lay in that bottle a good year before you cut him loose! I am drinking '05 vintage and it is not quite to its prime yet. But you can tell yo momma it is still some good stuff (I like BIGFOOT...........I like it cause it's good)!

Come over to my house y'all, and I'll give you a sip of BIGFOOT and a plate of BBQ (with WT sauce on it), and we will sing some old cowboy songs (I know pieces of a bunch of 'em) and pick out a bourbon that can tell BIGFOOT to stand down (probably WT 12 YO or Four Roses Single Barrel.........I like 'em............I like 'em cause they good) and go out on the back porch and listen to somma Barleycorn's stories (I done heard 'em all y'all.............forty eleven times), but I make allowances cause he is a dog, and he is my pet........kinda.

Now, what with the BIGFOOT and the BBQ, I'm gone change that flat on the crawlin tractor (I just pulled it outta the lake that Barleycorn drove it into) without benefit of a jack..........Imo pick that tractor right up barehanded by it hind leg and set it on a stump...........that's what BIGFOOT can do for you!!

Do not go gentle into that good night,Old age should burn and rage at close of day;Rage, rage against the dying of the light. - Dylan Thomas

No shit, they're in 12 oz'ers now?! Guess its been a while since I bought one I think I'll give it another whirl then. Damn, now I gotta go find me some Monster Ale, Celebration Ale, Old Foghorn and Bigfoot Ale... I love this time of year, the weather is great and some of my favorite beers are rolling out.

Oregone wrote:No comparison, really, between the two beers, though. Bigfoot is in a category all its own; very few barleywines that are hopped that heavily.

Actually, I'd say there's quite a few that are hopped that heavily that you might enjoy if you like Bigfoot. Avery Hog Heaven springs to mind (it's almost a IIPA to me, not my favorite but hoppy as all get-out), Stone Old Guardian, Bell's Third Coast Old Ale and Three Floyd's Behemouth just to name a few. The Bell's especially is a must try, in my opinion.

Big Foot might still be my favorite though. I have vintages back to 2003, I think, and I've been doing small vertacle tastings each year. Two years ago, I did one w/ the Chicago Beer Society w/ vintages going back to the mid-nineties and I'll tell you, it's very interesting to get a glimpse of the beer and how it ages but I think I still like it very fresh and aggressive.

Howdy Doody's past the House of Aquarius. Bring me more whiskey and rye!

All Bigfoot Ales that I've ever had were always VERY good. I'm sure this year will be no exception, but do let us know your impressions. I haven't yet had the pleasure of trying this years expression...I'll have to be on the lookout for it.

I don't tend to keep beer for aging. Like whisky, most of it doesn't improve with time, and most deteriorates. I read of a Bigfoot tasting a while back (the new Beer magazine?) in which an older bottle of I think 2002 or 2003 had lost it's magic. My experience is that it loses its fruity character and becomes a bit "flatter" (not less carbonated) in flavor.

I'd have to disagree with you regarding the loss of quality in a beer kept for a few years. I've done this numerous times, even with my own homebrews, and I've rarely noted any deterioration. To the contrary, many of the higher alcohol beers, such as Bigfoot, improve with age. I think they become more complex, sometimes more balanced. I have done comparisons of different vintages of Bigfoot or Thomas Hardy's, and invariably, the older they were, the more I liked them.

It is a matter of preference really. Certainly most beers should be drank as fresh as possible. (A year old pale ale will taste pretty wimpy compared to its fresh counterpart for example.) However, there are some beers that some people like the taste of aged. A lot of people like aged barleywines and I will tell you a couple years in the cellar certainly will bring a lot of new flavors to the table. I tend to like barleywines fresh--w/ some exceptions, of course--but an aged imperial stout can be heaven on earth once the bitterness fades some and some nutty sherry-like notes come through and emphasize the chocolaty flavors.

My advice: Anyone who's interested buy a sixer of some of your favorite strong ales (above 8% ABV at least, I would say) and try a bottle out of each every six months or so to find how you like it aged. You might like it, you might not. Either way, it's worth trying.

Age the bottles at cool temperatures in the dark just like you would wine only leave them upright instead of tilting them on the sides.

Howdy Doody's past the House of Aquarius. Bring me more whiskey and rye!